WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Jan. 30) – The Waynesburg University men's basketball team played host to Geneva on a frigid Wednesday evening at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse. The Yellow Jackets battled the Golden Tornadoes through 40 physical minutes and came out on the right end of a 72-67 final score.
 
With the win, Waynesburg moved to 5-7 in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play and to within one game of the number-three spot of the standings. The Jackets are now 6-14 on the season.
 
The first half was a tightly contested 20 minutes of play between the two conference rivals. Neither squad led by more four points at any time over the opening period. Waynesburg and Geneva (8-12, 5-6) shared 11 lead changes and eight ties before the Jackets took a 33-32 advantage to the locker room.
 
The Yellow Jackets were finally able to take semblance of control after a 14-7 start to the second half. Back-to-back layups by junior Sam Heeter (New Bethlehem, Pa. / Redbank Valley) and senior Nate Gearhart (Huntingdon, Pa. / Huntingdon) gave Waynesburg its biggest lead of the night at 47-39 with 13:41 left in the second half.
 
The home team never trailed for the remainder of the contest, but with 1:45 showing on the clock, a Geneva three-pointer tied the score at 66-66. Just over a minute later, junior wing Brennan Smith (New Cumblerand, W.Va. / Oak Glen) gave the home team the lead back at 68-66.
 
The Golden Tornadoes had a chance to tie the game eight seconds later when they made a trip to the foul line. However, the GT's missed the front end of the two shots and cut the deficit in half on shot number two. Waynesburg got the ensuing inbound pass in and sophomore guard Matt Popeck (Washington, Pa. / Washington) drew a foul that led to a pair of successful foul shots to make the score 70-67 with just under 20 second on the clock.
 
Geneva let fly with a potential game-tying trey that missed the mark and senior wing Jake Dougherty (New Bethlehem, Pa. / Redbank Valley) grabbed the rebound before drawing the final foul of the contest. The first-year standout reserve calmly knocked down both free throws to ice the crucial conference triumph for the Orange and Black.
 
"I though our effort in key moments was great tonight," said Waynesburg head coach Mark Christner. "It was a game where we made one more play than Geneva. This was an important win for us at home."
 
Smith led the offensive charge for the Jackets by posting a team-high 19 points on eight-of-13 shooting. He also tied for the game lead with three steals and two blocks on the defensive end.
 
Gearhart game off the bench to score 17 points and pull down a team-high seven rebounds over 20 minutes. He shot seven-of-13 from the floor.
 
Popeck added 15 points to the winning effort.
 
As has been the case all season, Waynesburg's work at the free throw line was a key cog in a victory. The Jackets made all 12 of their foul shots, improving their conference-leading percentage to 76.8 percent.
 
Waynesburg plays its final non-conference game of the season on Saturday against an old familiar team. Former PAC member Thomas More comes to town for a 1 p.m. tipoff.